Words Come Alive

There is a whole series of events going on as part of The Leeds Library's 250th birthday celebrations. Tonight was the first of a monthly series of spoken word events called Chelping. The great thing about having this routine of coming into the library a few days a week is that it gets me staying on for events that I wouldn't otherwise get to see. Tonight's was just brilliant, far exceeding my expectations. 

Pictured here is Bethany Rose, who was first up in the Open Mic section, a young performance and Instagram poet, just setting out on this road. She was great. This kind of thing takes a lot of courage. I have huge respect for anyone who gets up in front of an audience armed only with their own spoken words.

I grabbed a moment to take a portrait of Bethany Rose at the interval, but this shot was her idea, taken after the show was finished.

The headline acts featured Geneviève L. Walsh and Joelle Taylor. Both were amazing in their different ways. Check out Last Poet Standing and From the Ashes of a Poet. I was in the front row, only a few feet away from the performers, so taking photographs of them would have been a little intrusive, not that it would likely have occurred to me anyway, so mesmerising were their performances. 

It was a brilliant evening. Words came alive tonight.

If you're local, watch out and get a ticket for the next one when they become available. It's amazing value at a fiver.